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THE 



STORY or AN OSTRICH 



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THE LIBRAHY OF 
CONGRtSS, 



Two Copiee Received 

SEP 26 1903 

CLASS CL XXc. N» 



COPY 8. 



COPYRIGHTED, 1903, 

BV THE 
HAND PRINT BOOK FOLK, BOSTON. .MASS. 



AI.I. THE ILLUSTRATIONS H1-:R1-: SHOWN, I NCI.rDINC. THE TITLE 
rAClC, ARE KErRDDUCEI) FROM TEN DRAWINCS MADE EXPRESSLY 
FOR THIS HOOK, AT GREAT EXPENSE, AND ALL PF.RSoNS ARE 
HEREBY NciTUIICI) Niil To RI%PR( HirCIC THEM WITHnl'T PERMISSlciX 



^ PUBLISHER'S PREFACE 

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WIIAIEVER other merit ma\- be discovered in 
this book, the iniljlishers desire to call atten- 
tion to the fact that, as a whole, it is a production alto- 
gether unique in a field of endea\-or where somethino- 
new is being constantly sought, but seldom found. 
The poem is entirely hand-printed in large and legible 
letters, designedly kept free from ornate fancies" and, 
therefore, particularly easy to read. The hand-printing 
accords with the adjoining illustrations as angular and 
machine-made type never does, giving a pleasing and 
harmonious effect to the entire page, a result not to. 
be obtained b_\- the ordinary art of the printer. 
Attention is also called to the illustrations of the 
volume. Their merely mechanical arrangement upon 
the page is in itself unusual, we might almost say un- 
known to the reading public, while the imaginative 
story that the artist has told in the illustrations that he 
has contributed, is not only of the real and material 
world, but also of powers behind the scenes, which 
offer the motives and even supply the cues of most, if 
not all of the actors, who perform upon the great sta^e 
of life. In this, too, the book is unusual, if not unique. 



'Publisher's 'Preface 



and offers a fertile field to the imagination of a discern- 
ing public in connection with the dehcious humor of the 
poem itself. 

While, therefore, fully conscious of how far short the 
volume falls from what might be done in the direc- 
tion in which it only points the way, the publishers 
offer it as one of a series now in preparation, of similar 
works which, it is believed, will be found worthy of 
more than a few moments of the amused attention of 
the reader. 

Till, H.\M) Pkini IkjoK Folk. 



Back Bay, Boston, Mass., Oiiobcr, \goj. 








Artist's A n II o u n t iMti c ti t 

F the reader will pardon an unconventional 
obtrusion upon his attention for a brief mo- 
iment, he may be interested to follow somewhat 
the train of thought in the artist's mind prior to his 
beginning to illustrate this book. 

When " The Story of an Ostrich " was put into his 
hands, his first impression was, ** Here is a merely juve- 
nile theme, to be treated with light, conventional and orna- 
mental drawings, as an adornment to a fairy talc." 
As he read it, he gradually perceived a deeper signifi- 
cance concealed beneath the laugh that must inevitably 
be aroused at the thought of the ridiculous figure of the 
foolish ostrich pecking away at his homely feet, under 
the delusion that they are not his own. 
The longer he studied and pondered over it, the more 
was he impressed with the conviction that underneath 
the simple phraseology of the poem, the author had con- 
veyed a lesson that humanity might well pause and 
heed. . . In these days of " making many books," 
how welcome should be that one whose story aims to 
raise the burden that weighs down the surcharged 
heart, or seeks to still the fever coursing through the 
blood of men and women struggling with the compli- 
cated problems of life I 

" The Story of an Ostrich " is so simple in its form 
that children may read it with pleasure and profit, thereby 



cA r t i s t' s (Announcement 

drawing the simpler moral from the tale ; while there is 
also suggested a possible condition of society that shall be 
attuned to the perfect chord of divine law, through the 
subordination of individualism in such manner as to pro- 
duce complete harmony in all human affairs. 
In the pride and dominance of the head over the rest 
of the body, in its scorn of the feet, equally indispensable 
with the head to the welfare of the whole, the poem has 
struck at the discordant note of all our human disaffection 
and rebellion. 

When the artist had thus searched and found between 
the lines the real motive of the poem, it at once became 
pregnant with allusions and references that suggested 
artistic elaboration, or pen analysis, of the large area of 
social life, which the allegory, in its semi-humorous, 
satirical vein, assumes to cover. 

If his pencil seems at times to wander far afield, either 
in elaboration or disregard of the canon principles of 
art, his plea must be that the interpretation he has given 
is according to his carefully studied conception of what 
the author must have had in mind when writing " The 
Story of an Ostrich." 




1 hjii sluggiird in bonds to a vision of night. 
Be not a king's fool, but a proud man of might : 
.irise like a lord, that ye max not be slain. 
No door shal imprison, no hope be in vain ; 
The zvorld is for conquest, -ivho seeks for such goal, 
Will fnd the chain riven, the ke\ in his soul! 



^ / HE iiiikiiozvii spake 07it of the finiiainciit, sayiiii:;, — 

" Choose ye one iustnmient first, emd then attune 

another one to it. This aeeoniplished, attune then a tliird 

instrument to them ; after that a fourth, and so on ; and 

ye shall be all attuned alike f 

Thereupon, the musieians set to loork, but eould not agree 
as to udiose should be the prst instrumei/t. 
A pillar of fire descended from Heaven and stood in the 
}nid<:t of the musieiai/s ; and in the centre of the pillar op 
pre their appeared an instrument called the .-III Perfect. 
The instrument gave forth one note and all the musicians 
attuned to it. The I'oice said. " / haz'c given the keynote, 
find ye the rest." 

Tfie pillar of fire departed. Ihie instruments thus attuned 
in harmony played rapturously. 

This /perceive. — to make the man and 7vife one, to 
make the village one, to make the state one, to make the 
empire one. — all in harmony as one instrument, cannot 
be done ivithout a Central Son, a Creator to attune to. 
IVhen a man is attuned to Him, and a woman is attuned 
to ffim, they 7vill themselves be as one. Jl'hen the family 
a //d the village are attuned to ffim, it is easy. Without 
ffim harmony cannot be. 

ffe. the Creator, then, must be first in all things, first 
in all places. He must be ilie nearest of all things, the 
nearest of all places. In our rites and ceremonies. He 
must be the All Ideal Perfection, the embodiment of a 
Perfect Person f — iiook of s.iphah. 



Che Storij of an 0)$tncri 






HY 
TTT|-\r) Tti A A fC FOHMRHLY KDITOR OF THK YaNKBE Br.ADE, 

'J*~/UU l»T!>.tV..rt-\^Ct, jjy^ Engiand Magazine. Nickeli, Magazink. 



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Tlie Story of an Ostrich. 

A robust old ostrich, with liead little bigger 
Tliaii that of some creatures of far frailer figure, 
With two legs complete, and a speed very fleet, 
Once caught a short peep at his feet, in the street. 

So far from Ills head did they seem to be located, 
He failed to take note that upon each were notated 
Scales, warts and abrasions, nails, ossification, 
Which proved tlieni a part of his own corporation. 

He noticed, however, wherever he went, 
Tiey came along,too, and he asked what it meant? 
Tiougli lie walked tlirough the town, or he stalked o'er the heath 
He obseivedthey remained, always, right underneath. 
He thrust out his bust and inside he just cussed, 
When they strode along and kept kicking up dust; 
\ But in vain did he feign to abstain from disdain, 
l As he dined with the twain in the wind and the rain; 



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Or stared around therein, while wearing' a kar-grin, 
Evincing an evident, ill-eoncealed chagrin. 

So very ungainly were tky, like atjinor, 
TFie ostrich, at last, got in very bad humor; 
yind, failing to recognise them as liisown, 
Made a peck with liis beak that went clear to the bone, i 
Which gave all his nerves such a terrible thrill, 
He quick pecked another hard peck with his bill; 
With each peck a quivei) his frame shook with shivers, 
/Isif his limp liver were pierced with slim slivers,- 
TIll both his great feet with his heart's blood were red, ^ 
Oozing outonthe ground, as he'd painfully tread. 

It was strange that his feet, thus, he blindly maltreated, 

Debased his escheat and his comfort defeated! 

As a matter of fact, he never had noticed 

How he'd got around; and he'd not the remotest 

Idea that his own high position depended 

On two ugly feet that his good taste offended. 
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/. 

HE thoughtful student of modern, social, and 
economic conditions, who reads the accom- 
panying rhymed satire, " The Story of an 
Ostrich," will discover in it much more than the mere 
words would ordinarily convey, and will read into it 
such measure of philosophy as his own experience and 
critical study of the problem of human existence may 
have prepared him for. 

When, ten thousand years ago, the owl sat in the light 
of the moon and unknown deities spat wisdom into the 
philosophies of Hermes and Zoroaster and their more or 
less erudite predecessors, the earliest gods, with their 
bird-like heads and male bodies, were yet vehicles of 
truth, elevating the frail stock of humanity over which 
they threw their benign influences. 
Since recorded history began, the world has had many 
gods, and many books concerning them have been 
written, determining by much labor of the head which 



The Undertone 



should be worshiped, rather than impressing the heart 
with sincere desire to travel in divinely appointed ways. 
As "the mere grasses/' priests and kings have trampled 
upon the masses — have been at once their masters, 
their deities and interpreters of deity. Their rank materi- 
alism has always complacently overrated itself, while 
the world, which labors and runs, has ever been chained 
to and crushed beneath it. Man knew not the power of 
God within himself. 

//. 

Many unthinking as well as vicious men, in both ancient 
and modern times, who have by accident of birth and 
condition been set in authority over their fellows, or, 
who have by their own efforts been raised to positions of 
power and responsibility in the state and among the great 
captains of industry, have thought to ignore their depend- 
ence upon the lower orders of society for the very altitude 
they have enjoyed — the head refusing, as it were, to 
consider the feet as a part of the body corporate and 
entitled to no more than the pleasure of mere existence. 
Such heads apply no healing balms to weak and wounded 



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Although, from his youth up^tlieyVl always been going", 

His mental inertia prevented his knowing 

That all lofty heads must have good understanding", 

To retain, out of hand, a position coniinanding; 

So, lie would sti II peck, though it hurt, and despise tlieni, 

/Ind swear, by the gods, he would not recognise tliem ! 

But those homely feet, which for long had done duty 
Mid lowly conditions, lay 'ng no claim to beauty 
Of pinion, or plunie,yet upholding together 
Tie framework of bone, witli its blood, flesh and feather,— 
Tie which makes an ostrich of wit and assurance,- 
A\. last reached the limit of patient endurance. 

Tiey turned about, then,- the proverbial worin,- 
I /Ind punched his head hard -to use a slang term ; 
So forceful and rapid they got in tlieir work, 
The ostrich, in agony, let out a "quirk!" 
/Is, weakened by suffring, disheartened by pain, 
/I hint of the truth dawned upon his dull brain. 

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Self-centred, astounded, indignant, demented, 
The ostricli, not yet half acquainted, resented 
Tlie silent upheaval, he'd felt, of the niasses, 
He'd, heretofore, held to J)e as the mere grasses; 
Ttiey having objected, lie'd make no contention, 
Tiougli he wondered how he'd interpose intervention 
Enough to protect him from any more kicking 
Like that, which was, now, in his mein'ry still sticking. 

Overwhelmed with emotion he could not command, 
The hurt ostrich buried his head in tlie sand, — 
/Iway from his sight shut his two mangled feet out, 
Lest they his own ostrich fool brains should quite beat out,— 
Tius hiding himself, as he thought, in his shame, 
F-om the world, though he still stood revealed just the samel 

Twas then a near neighbor, who'd watched with close scrutiny, | 
Tie clumsy feet operate during the mutiny, 
Interfered to propose they adopt arbitration, 
/Ind settle their difference with more moderation. 



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The Undertone 



extremities, but proffer, instead, the scourge, i. e., starva- 
tion, long days of poorly remunerated toil, squalid sur- 
roundings, — in ancient times the guillotine, the gallows 
and the rack ; in modern days, ostracism, the prison and 
the electric chair. The blood of Christ's divinity flov/ed 
that love and mercy might be exemplified, but it can- 
not sprinkle the world with saving grace, so long as its 
own herald, the church, continues to say, " Amen ! " to 
the master, and " Peace, be still ! " to the slave. 
When there crept into the world the first dull, unreasoning 
sense of injury, — when the underlings of humanity first 
began to assimilate from the common vein of intelligence 
that made them one with the body, a sensible desire for 
recognition on the ground of equality, they were promptly 
denied any part whatsoever in the material and spiritual 
accretions of generations of labor; and then was inaugu- 
rated the revolt that has been prolific through all past 
time, of war and misery, of violence, pillage and murder. 

In the light of experience the heads of humanity have 
seldom profited by the tutelage of whips and blood and 



T h e Undertone 



torture. Without respect for rights and demands when 
opposed to their selfish material interests, they have held 
not their Bibles in their hands, where the light might il- 
lumine its pages, but have placed the sacred book under 
their feet while making prayers to stocks and bonds. 
But the knights-errant are in the saddle, and with the 
true spirit of knighthood they may be found in the thick 
of the politic battle, where they are making clear the path 
for greater powers that shall follow with purging force to 
cleanse the great body and through a long and cruel strife 
establish the contentious parts in truth and unity. 

IV. 
Mighty powers of the state are asleep at the post of duty, 
when, lo! an issue arises, — the mice are in the govern- 
ment meal-bag, — the spirits of fire and distraction are 
abroad ; wealth and power are being attacked from be- 
neath ! The great hand of the law reaches forth to seize 
upon the offender and to snuff out his little, palpitating 
human life, that, far from being the cause, is only a symp- 
tom of the real malady. The cause still exists, the cancer 
of the state still invites new vermin to feed upon its sore. 




Observe" said the neighbor, "your festiculatioiis, 
Your dearth of debate and gymnastic gyrations 
Encroach, with a frequency highly alarming, 
Upon my estate, which I value for fanning; 
If your two extremities keep on contending", 
Bye and bye, we shall have nothing left worth defending. 

Tie plan was considered by all the combatants,— 
In silence the feet, by the head's usual blatance, 
Which presently muttered,"! may yet surprise you? 
yind mentally uttered, "I'll not recognize you! 
But agreed, after all, with becoming alacrity. 
Despite the bald fact thatbotli feet were still theie,gritty 
Ani soiled with innumerable days of hard working, 
Transporting their load overland without shirking. 

TTien a toad, a sly fox, a snail, peacock and hatter, 
Tirned-to to investigate what was the matter; 
Selecting a sand-pit within which to meet, 
They mvited the ostrich to come,— with his feet, 



And tell how it happened the quarrel arose, 
Which, they'd been hiformed, culminated in blows. 

Ttie peacock w^s asked to preside at the hearing, 
Decide the disputes, in despite of the jeering 
That,betimes,with his rulings, increased to a gale, 
When he, perchance,winked with the eyes of his tail. 

"Fie ostrich appeared and made the assertion, 
In voluble language of aniniadversion, 
Tiat, while he'd been, quietly, minding his business, 
His damp, dirty feet had occasioned him diziiness, 
Obtruding each, vulgarly, on his attention, 
Thereby, in so doing, creating contention,- 
I'faith, 'pon mywoTd,"the ostrich said, squawking, 
I fear me, each wants a kid shoe and silk stocking;" 

At this point, the peacock his tail feathers flaunted; 
The ostrich, however, continued undaunted,- 
I know of no reason for this state of things, 
Nor why my two feet should expect, by their flings, 



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The Undertone 



The knight prophesies and expostulates in the public ear, 
but Uncle Sam still sleeps, though perchance with uneasy 
dreams. The great forces which evolve the tramp and 
the ignorant emigrant are still at work, while the devil 
holds the match to the combustible elements of soulless 
greed. Bye and bye there will be a great hue and cry of 
fire, with much ringing of bells. 

V. 
Uncle Sam is now awake and doing in earnest. The 
rankness of materialism breeding from the earth, a thing 
of great and dreaded power, of craft and slime, recoils 
upon the land of which it has been begotten and now 
boldly erects its head to encompass the state in its death- 
constricting coils. 

Even the old lady, who is wont to knit her stockings in 
peace by a hardwood fire, or by the glowing coals of an 
open grate, in city or town, alike, peaceful and content, 
and without consideration of the vexing problems of sup- 
ply and demand, awakens suddenly to the fact that even 
a comfortable competence is no surety against want and 
cold, when the serpent has dragged himself into the gar- 
den and garner house of God. 



The Undertone 



The farmer is aroused and indignant, but when he 
makes his protest, the serpent flies pursuit, and with a 
changing policy under the guise of a great, foolish bird 
and a well assumed air of innocence, buries its small 
and crafty head for a season in the sand. 

VI. 
Really, it seems ridiculous that this incessant warfare 
of man against man should go on, — the head casting 
aspersions upon the feet, and the feet kicking against 
their own head, to the mutual affliction of themselves 
and the great body that holds them together in the firm 
compact of common life. . . . This is not God's law, 
but man's supreme selfishness, — his disobedience and 
his curse. After all, kid shoes and silk stockings are not 
elective privileges; and poorer humanity, turning under its 
cross and chains, appeals to Heaven, not in vain, if we 
read aright the signs of the times. The air resounds 
with optimistic teachings and words of love and cheer 
that, as yet, have no guarantee in actual deeds. In con- 
tra-distinction to the Christian creed, " we must look out 
for ourselves," is the rasping gospel of our latter-day faith. 




To dictate to me with whom I shall travel, 
yinnoy me by constantly scratching the giuvel, 
yind trench on my courtesy, when I decline, 
For reasons sufficient, to treat tlieni as mine; 
Please notice, your honors, their mode of attack,- 
hold they've no srievanee and shouldn't kick back" 

lile the ostrich was talking,iii tones hoarse and wlieezy, 
His feet, from their pecking still sore, grew uneasy; 
Unfitted by nature totalk,tliey, by grace, 
In eloquent silence presented their case. 

Tie judges, thrown now on tlieir own wisdom, turned 
To next take account of how much they had learned; 
Tie peacock, as chaivnian, assuming dominion, 
Invited from eacl) a judicial opinion; 
Whereupon, in l)isturn,eacliliis own views expressed, 
Tien sat down and looked arodnd.wise, at the rest. 

Tie fox was the first to arise to liis feet, 

X announce that his own mind was made up complete; 






Mm0WM 




He seized tlie occasion liis own reputation 
X clear of a cloud of ill-got defamation 
/llle^iiigtliat he liad habitually crept 
Round henroosts, at midnight, when honest tblk slept; 
Wliicli libel had darkened his whole life's existence, 
yind made it much harder to gain a subsistence; 
He thought it ashamethat apoor tempted sinner, 
Like liini, should thus suffer for getthig his dinner. 

Wliile he spake,his eyes rested, in manner abiding, 
Upon the slim neck of the peacock presiding, 
Wliicli ruffled its feathers and spread out its tail, 
Tliough feeling itself round the gills growing pale. 

Tie next to express an opniion, invoked 
By the peacock piiesiding, the toad gruffly croaked 
His belief that beneath stillest tongue there lay hid, 
Most often, the softest and teiiderest quid; 
For his part,he thought that the ostrich inclined 
To lay too much stress on his power of mindj 



The Undertone 



But there are those who work as well as preach, and to 
such may yet be recorded the service of universal peace. 

VII. 

In solemn convocation met, stand the mighty men of 

our realm, with the policy of the bull, of the bear, of the 

wolf and of the fox, each animal, according to the nature 

of its disposition, awaiting the opportunity of power and 

spoliation, by which he may grasp and hold to himself, 

as his own personal increment, all that can be wrested 

from the state and humanity at large. The state, itself, 

in principle wise, majestic and supreme, petitions peace 

of the leering devil, who constantly juggles with the tape 

of human selfishness, as waiting angels record the devious 

courses that nations and individuals take. 

Behold, how pressed on all sides is the man of the hour 

in the grasp of the huge, overbrooding, material powers 

of self-interest. 

VIII. 

Confusion still reigns, but labor has risen from the cross 
and comes to legislation. He dreams of conquests that 
are chimerical, where the shadowy knight of honor con- 
tests the field with the disgruntled spirit of melancholy. 



The Undertone 



who pessimistically broods the unhatched zgg of arbitra- 
tion. Agitators and agitations still hold sway, while 
Satan in their midst dominates the human idea of prog- 
ress and reform with the accursed principle of Self, that is 
in itself Self-destroying. 

IX. 
When, now, the monster spirit of protest begins to show 
its gigantic figure, high, low, and middle classes are 
alarmed. Prices fluctuate, business goes down, work 
and bread are scarce. Behold, in the heavens appear 
the gruesome phantoms of war. But so far, in every 
crisis, messengers from worlds beyond have sanctified 
the impending woe to the world's welfare. 
The tides of progress are in the hands of the Infinite, 
who measures from cycle to cycle their ebb and flow; 
while the ever rising tide-mark signifies the ultimate in- 
undation of the millenium. How great is God ! How 
small is man in his own councils! 

X. 
By the loss of men and money mighty men are upset, 
and the wise among them are made to look grave. In 



Its all very well for them as can do it, 
To strive after learning aiidtiy to construe it, 
But an oslricli's presumption is, clearly, mere shoddy, 
His head is too small for tlie size of his body." 

TTie .<:nail next emerged from his shell, to announce 
His opiin'oii, in words he could scarcely pronounce; 
He spake without grace and his voice was not strong, 
V/inle his sentences dragged themselves slowly along; 
Aw estred§e,"hesaid,"isermonstrus bigcreeter, 
Who'd killyou all dead, as you'd kill er niuskeeter; 
fl Ef he stepped his gret foot on your body and shell, 
I'm sure you would never, again.feel so well;" 
Tie snail then withdrew to his shell's deep recesses, 
With the same staid demeanor he ever possesses. 




TTie hatter essayed, now, to speak, in his turn. 
In serious words.that evinced his concern, 
Lest justice iniscany and leave their decision 
A subject for mirth, if not open derision. 



My friends," he begaii Tin pleased witli your brevity, 
Butycu treat the matter with far toe iiiucli levity; 
Its plainly the duty of tliose of our station, 
To reconiendtliat which deserves coininendatiou;" 

Tie world is a large one, and all who are in it 
Should join iiithispriiicip]e,this very iiiiiiute,- 
TtiatiiaturejOr Providence, made no mistake 
III giving an ostrich a head that will ache, 
In order that when he slips off from his trolley. 
Some well sustained kicks may reveal liini his folly" 

I perceive in this case a well defined principle,- 
Divinely appointed, eternal, invincible,- 
To wit,- adaptation of means to an end, 
By reason of which, all effect and cause blend,- 
Whicti gave the dumb feet an integument bony. 
To travel in dirt and o'er ground rough and stony, 
Awi set ill the head, held aloft in the main, 
The delicate eye forthe convolute brain, 










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The Undertone 



the day of judgment, in the overturning of the kingdom 
and principles of the world they inhabit, no one knows 
what to think. Apprehension and gloom are on all the 
faces that meet in the populous thoroughfares of trade ; 
but the public school, the pen, and the power of the press 
have so raised the standard of common intelligence, that 
there is a steady advance and progress, animated by its in- 
spiring, though still shackled Spirit of Protest- It has 
entered of its own volition into the service which makes 
for the unity of powers working jointly in Heaven and 
upon the earth, and our beautiful flag shows only the 
transfigured light of the stars. 

XL 
To separate the head from the feet, labor from capital, or 
to inaugurate war between them, brings about such con- 
fusion and distress as can only be likened to the great 
body of humanity being continually brewed by Satan in 
an enormous caldron kept hot by the fires of revolution. 
All evil being ultimate good, the process, though one of 
renovation and purification, is bitterly painful to the inno- 
cent as well as to the guilty. In the determined revolt of 



T h e Undertone 



the feet of humanity against the head, it has always been 
discovered that the head was too small for the size of the 
body; and that the bulky feet carry with them, when 
aroused to action along the lines of self-defence, a tre- 
mendous barbaric force and cruelty. Witness the fearful 
revolts of society that have brought the issue to a test. In 
the cosmical alembic of human jurisprudence, there must 
be mixed with lofty and divine sentiments a recognition of 
our mutual dependence and accountability, not of man to 
man, only, but to something higher than his humanity, a 
perfect and divine law to which that humanity may be 
harmoniously attuned. God, dominant in love that is not 
calculating, but universal and free as the air we breathe 
and without taint of prejudice, can alone amalgamate the 
differences of these varying tones, — wielding them to- 
gether into a perfectly melodious theme. 
He is, indeed, the tuning fork that shall put the instru- 
ments into perfect tune. 

XIL 

The age has reached a point of reason so far as councils 
may serve to settle the differences between the head and 
the feet; and the waiting world stands with attentive ear 




To detect at a distance iinpeiiding disaster, 
Fulfilling the duties assigned to tk master, 
Of guiding tlie feet toward smootli paths, every day, 
yiiid making as easy as may he tlieir way." 

The peacock had hstened, with iated emotion, 
While each indicated and stated his notion; 
But whenthey were done, tw screeched out with aflout, 
4ou,noiie of you, know what you're talking about!" 
With which aJlegatioii he gravely begun 
To strut up and down, back and forth, in the sun, 
-^nd spread out his frail and great, glim mering tail, 
Till it shone like a beautiful, shimmering veil. 

Lxcuse me," he said, in tones harsh and discordant, 
Ill-concealing a feeling sarcastic and mordant 
That listeners all noted,"if, I implore you, 
I perambulate g^orgeousjy round here before you. 
To show you that beauty of plumage and figure 
Have nothing in common with prosaic vigor; 



Creation, which wisely decreed that ttie feet 

Were made tobe used in the dust of the street, 

Has, also, ordainedtliatthey shall sustain 

Superior cellular tissue and brain 

^bove and away from the gross things of earth,- 

Evincing, thereby, a superlative birth; 

^nd why should I be, then, so terribly blamed, 

Jf I , of my feet , am a good deal asliained •" 

A^ he ended, the floor of the sand-pit lie spurned, 

,^nd abruptly announced arbitration adjourned. 

-Although no agreement was reached,as awhole, 
Discussion is generally good for the soul; 
The ostrich,ere adjudication was tlirough. 
Unconsciously passing his acts in review, 
Had arrived, independently, at the decision, 
TTiat he'd been a fool; and he laughed in derision, 
To think he'd permitted his weak self-conceit, 
To lead him to pecking his own faithful feet. 



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The Undertone 



to hear the judgment of such councils of mankind ; great 
and small are its representatives, and progress will be 
made only so far as the religious idea proclaimed in Judea 
shall be allowed to influence the pride and passions of men. 

XIII. 
The waiting knight, emblem of the new manhood just 
entering upon its estate of resolution and responsibility, 
is the type of a generation now setting forth in quest of 
high and honorable adventure. Satan is at his back, 
thrusting forward a bag of gold and counselling the pur- 
suit of wealth; "Put money in thy purse!" saith the 
devil; "all else counts but little, — put money in thy 
purse ! " At his left hand stands the priest in his splen- 
did robes of office, proffering the symbol of suffering and 
self-renunciation. The knight sees the frozen church 
with ascetic and veiled superstition as its hand-maidens ; 
the star of Bethlehem still shines out of the dark upon a 
mighty hand reaching out of the clouds to shake to its 
foundations the edifice of Christ, emblazoned with the let- 
ter and the creed, but supported by the pomp and pride of 
a purely material world. ''The zeal of his house hath 



The Undertone 



eaten him up," and in [he majestic temple sits the money 

changer, absorbed in his trade and his material enterprises. 

Before him kneels the imploring angel of Freedom, raising 

the flag of the great republic, wifh ail its portents and 

promises, symbolically arrayed in its stripes and stars. 

Uncle Sam is but a puzzled and quizzical spectator of 

future events. 

XIV. 

The battle between the head and the feet results, at last, 

in the fall of Satan, that is, Self, under the God-principle 

of self-renunciation, working in all human creeds and 

canticles, foreshadowing the unity of the race in the power 

of the religious idea that has, at last, become dominant in 

the head. The cross, no longer an emblem of suffering but 

of power, unites with the crown in a final union of church 

and state. Here behold the wedded bliss of the long 

divorced pair, presaging a new and glorified race of man. 

Then, indeed, the baptismal story of man's hoary and 

ancient glory in Eden shall usher in that gracious day, 

when the lamb and the lion shall gambol together, and 

there shall be in all the earth neither murder, nor theft, 

nor plunder, nor war. 



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Thereafter, the ostrich, with feet and head sore, 
Resolved he would not peck his feet any more; 
He's learned by experience, virtue superior 
Lies, often, concealed under coarsest exterior; 
Ttiat modest and unostentatious assumption, 
Betimes, will outweigh overweening presymptioii; 
That tk feet of an ostrich, no less than liis head,- 
Though that be, perchance, more or less better bred 
^nd adapted by nature to study astronomy,- 
Jire iinpoitaiittwo members of ostrich ecoiioniy, 
With wiiieh no wise bird, be liis head ere so comely, 
Should quarrel, because they are dirty and homely. 

Having reached this conclusion, our ostrich became 
y{ modified ostrich in all but the name; 
From old niisconceptions of merest mendacity, 
He grew to be kindly and lost his loquacity. 
More humble in spirit, imbued with true charlty,- 
Wiiich, under the sun, is the thing of most rarity. • 

13 



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Lest any imagine tliis measure devoid 

Of mean iiig they'd quicker detect unalloyed, 

It is meet to observe tiiat 'twas writ with design, 

Well knowing wise men its intent will divine. 

By the ostrich is meant mankind, great and small, 
Weak and strong, rich andpoor, thin and fat,sliort and tall, 
Let loose for awhile, in earth's paddock confined, 
A]\ attempt of the gods to rear more of their kind; 
1 infer the experiment still is in doubt, 
Fox very few ^ods have, as yet, been hatched out. 

But some men,there are, with great purposes fraught, 

Who have pushed back afar the world's frontier of thought; 

And others, whose deeds,speaking louder than words, 

Show how much of Cod human nature affords, 

Foretelling of Heaven,- e'en giving a glimpse 

Of seraphim, cherubim, angels and iiyniphs,- 

Tll the heart of humanity, lifted up, sings 

In tune with the Infinite nature of things. 
The End. 






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